May 30, 2020

EU feed industry on track for deforestation-free soy, says IDH report

A report by the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) says that an estimated 38% of soybean meal consumption in Europe is compliant with the FEFAC Soy Sourcing Guidelines (SSG) and 19% is certified deforestation-free as of 2018, when the survey was made. FEFAC is the European Feed Manufacturers' Federation.

IDH's second edition of the "European Soy Monitor", published on Thursday, May 28, also refers to FEFAC's estimates that 77% of EU soy imports were sourced from low-deforestation regions, based on EU trade statistics and industry expert assessments.

The numbers, according to IDH, demonstrate "the beginning of progress". The IDH said the soy landscape was slowly moving toward more sustainability.

FEFAC's internal estimates showed higher numbers, such as that 49% of all industrial compound feed use of soybean meal sourced in 2018 was FEFAC SSG-compliant, more than the 38% mentioned in the IDH monitor report, since that covers total soybean consumption in Europe (including food use and on-farm mixing).

FEFAC's internal estimates also indicated that a higher 79% of all soy used in the EU (including soy sourced from within the EU) in 2018 came from origins that could be considered as carrying a low deforestation risk (e.g. EU, United States, Canada, Ukraine, Serbia, India, China). FEFAC said in a press release Thursday that it considers soy supplies from these origins as "deforestation-free", although it is not certified as such..

FEFAC moreover said that its internal estimates showed that further increased uptakes of responsible soy and certified deforestation-free soy were recorded for 2019, with a total industrial usage of more than 10 million tonnes.

FEFAC President Nick Major said he was proud of the progress achieved so far by the industry and supply-chain partners on responsible soy sourcing. "The fact that 77% of EU soy imports were sourced from low-deforestation regions is significant, but there is more work to do", he said.

The IDH agrees, saying that while these numbers indicate increased adoption of sustainable soy, "this rate must accelerate if we are to reach 100% on a relevant timeline".